Cash, liquor, drugs worth Rs 34 crore seized in poll-bound Bihar

Enforcement agencies have seized cash, liquor, drugs, and freebies worth nearly ₹34 crore in Bihar since the election announcement, the Election Commission said. Surveillance and expenditure monitoring teams are working to prevent voter inducement ahead of the November Assembly polls.

New Delhi: Enforcement agencies have seized cash, drugs, liquor and freebies worth Rs 33.97 crore from poll-bound Bihar as part of efforts to prevent inducement of voters by political parties. The state goes to polls in two phases on November 6 and 11. Votes will be counted on November 14.

The Election Commission said on Wednesday that since polls were announced on October 6, a total seizure of Rs 33.97 crore worth of cash, liquor, drugs and freebies has been made by different enforcement agencies.

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Expenditure observers have already been deployed to monitor the election expenses incurred by the candidates and have reached their respective constituencies on the day of the notificationa for the two phases were issued. They will meet all the teams engaged in expenditure monitoring.

Flying squads, surveillance teams, video surveillance teams are working round-the-clock to monitor any suspected instances of money power or other inducements being used to sway the voters, the EC said.

The Commission has also activated the online system called Election Seizure Management System (ESMS) for reporting of interceptions/seizures made by surveillance teams and enforcement agencies on a real-time basis during the election period.

The Commission has stressed that enforcement authorities should ensure that ordinary citizens are not inconvenienced or harassed during the checking and inspection for the enforcement of these directives.